Almut Tantzen Brooks

Almut "Allie" Tantzen Brooks, 81, died on June 20, 2023 in Las Cruces, NM. She was born in

Berlin, Germany on November 22, 1941 to Robert and Elfriede Tantzen. She came to the United

States with her parents and sister, Ulrike Hoffman, in 1953, where they made a new home in

Alamogordo, NM. After high school, she attended the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque,

NM where she majored in Education and minored in Spanish. She later obtained her Master's

degree. It was at UNM that she met her husband, Benjamin Brooks. They married in 1964 and

had three children: Leigh Brooks (Portland, OR), Kelly Brooks Smith (Santa Fe, NM) and Erin

Brooks (Visalia, CA).

Allie and Erin moved to Las Cruces in 1987 because she loved the desert and mountains and

felt New Mexico was truly home. She taught special education and gifted students at Gadsden

Middle School in Anthony, NM for 16 years where she led students in Odyssey of the Mind. She

was always excited about learning new things and problem solving, which she emphasized to

her children. Prior to moving to Las Cruces, she was a teacher in the Gifted and Talented

Program in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

Allie loved animals and frequently fostered kittens for the local animal shelter. The house was

usually filled with at least two dogs, three cats, and other miscellaneous pets. She had a special

place in her heart for basset hounds and owned many during her life.

She had a creative artsy side and made beautiful stained-glass pieces and ceramics. She

enjoyed playing board games and puzzles, and attempted the crossword puzzle every day after

she read the local paper. She was a talented singer and sang bass in Sweet Adelines when she

lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

She loved gardening and especially loved irises. She liked the outdoors and often led the family

on hiking adventures that included getting lost looking for a trail head she was certain she

remembered how to find.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Elfriede Tantzen, her ex-husband

Benjamin Brooks, and her beloved basset hounds Hannah and Barney.

She is survived by her sister, Ulrike Hoffman (Don & their three children: Ryan Hoffman, Matt

Hoffman and Kristin Grimes), and her children, Leigh Brooks (daughter Madeleine), Kelly

Brooks Smith (husband Jason Smith and their children, Bucky & Kate), Erin Brooks, and her

fifteen year old cat, Sterling.

A memorial will be held at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Las Cruces, NM on August 4, 2023 at

2 pm. Donations can be sent to the charities she donated to the most: Save the Children,

ASPCA, HSUS, and the National Wildlife Federation.